Financial Therapy: A Holistic Approach to Financial and Emotional Wellness

What if I told you that emotional health and financial health are not only important but are highly intertwined? Yes, our emotions and finances are each highly affected by each other— especially as business owners. 

Emotional Spending

Emotional spending is a phenomenon that can affect anyone. People from all backgrounds can experience the impact of emotional spending; however, the stressors that may cause emotional spending and financial distress are magnified with business owners who are striving to show up authentically and pour the best of themselves into their craft. 

What is emotional spending? It is when one spends money on extra expenses as a response to intense emotions. These emotions can range from glee to depression to anxiety and even grief. There is no one way in which it manifests itself. Here are three examples of emotional spending: 

1. Susie had a rough day at her new naturopathic office. She does not have enough clients to meet her monthly business goals yet. Susie feels overwhelmed by the pressures of work in addition to dealing with familial issues. After work one Friday evening, Susie stops at Whole Foods to grab food to cook for dinner that night. After cooking, Susie decides that it’s time for another business course, so she spends $500.00 on a business class. She believes that having these courses under her belt is the only way others will take her seriously. Unfortunately, this money was Susie’s personal money that she vowed to save. 
2. Anthony recently experienced the loss of his childhood friend. This has been difficult for him to navigate, but he continues to go to work and live life the way he usually does. While he appears to be doing “well,” he has been buying over $30.00 of extra food when he eats out to cope with the passing of his friend. He has been using his business card to cover the extra eating expenses. This causes Anthony to become more stressed, as he is now having to deal with a financial decline within his business, since it is not profitable yet. 
3. Kyle recently landed a high paying client for his marketing business. To celebrate, he invites his friends out for an impromptu dinner at his favorite, high-end restaurant. On a whim, Kyle decides to pick up the tab for all six of his friends, totaling to $980.00. After checking his account the next day, Kyle realizes he spent money that he could have used to hire extra people to assist with his new project. 

For many people, situations like the ones listed above are chronic. Not understanding your emotions causes you to stay in a cycle of emotional spending. 

Does More Money Fix Things?

Well, yes and no. It is important to understand that making more money, as a business owner, will not solve most of your financial woes. Every business must have a target for growth. If there is no target for growth, business owners may never see how profitable their businesses truly are. While many believe that the key to financial growth in a business is incoming money, the truth is the opposite. Business owners should focus on outgoing money. This will help you see exactly where your money is being spent. Understanding this could also help you identify your triggers. 

Many business owners believe that if they can just land their dream client, their issues will be resolved. That simply is not the case. One must master their emotions if they plan on mastering their finances. More money is great but only if you, as a business owner, master your emotions. 

Why is this? The issue is when business owners do not do the inner work of understanding personal triggers and figuring out how to navigate their emotions in a healthy way the cycle will continue, no matter how much money you make. As your money increases, so will your spending habits. Mastering your emotions is key. 

Get Involved 

Being involved in a community with other business owners is a great way to be open about many of the challenges that business owners face. According to NHS.com’s article, “5 Steps to Mental Wellbeing,” connecting with others is one of the best ways to improve your mental health. The More Than Therapy community is a group full of like-minded business owners who are not only passionate about their work but ready to work on their emotional and financial habits, just like you. 

While you are here, you’ll get a free weekly webinar that addresses one of the Financial Therapy for Business Success topics, which educates service-based business owners in learning the four steps to build a business that is simple, logical, and profitable. You can join by clicking here. 

References:

www.NHS.com “5 Steps to Mental Wellness”

FREE WEBINAR

In the community you’ll get a free webinar each week addressing a Financial Therapy for Business Success topic. It’s  great place for service based business owners to learn the 4-steps to building a simple, logical, and profitable business.

THE EMOTIONS I ADDRESS MOST OFTEN

• FEAR EMOTIONS
• UNKNOWN
• MAKING A MISTAKE
• NOT BEING ACCEPTED
• LACK
• NOT GOOD ENOUGH, INADEQUATE
• NEED TO DO MORE
• THERE ISN’T ENOUGH (MONEY, CLIENTS, TIME)

• LONELY EMOTIONS
• NUMB
• MISUNDERSTOOD
• NO REAL CONNECTION
• LONGING FOR MEANING IN LIFE
• MONEY EMOTIONS
• GREED
• GUILT
• SHAME
• RESENTMENT OR ANGER